Refrigerators (including some forms of upright freezers) have condensor coils exterior of and spaced from the back of the refrigerator for cooling refrigerant during the refrigeration process.
It is common for the coils to be supported by metal supports which are mounted upon the back of the refrigerator and which extend outwardly from the back of the refrigerator. The coils are supported from hooks spaced from the back of the refrigerator when it is in use. Often the coils are protected by means of a grid of vertical wires welded to the coils which grid also tends to dissipate heat from the coils. However, when the condensor coils are spaced from the back of the refrigerator, it is difficult to transport the refrigerator from manufacturer to retailer and from retailer to consumer without the possibility of damage being caused to the condensor coils. In practice, the existing supports are collapsible in such fashion that the condensor coils are disposed adjacent to the back of the refrigerator during shipping and therefore are much less susceptible to damage during movement of the refrigerator. Existing supports are often of stamped sheet metal, rust proofed and spring biased to an open or extended position. When the refrigerator is shipped, the supports or hooks are collapsed against the spring bias and the coils taped to the refrigerator so as to maintain them closely adjacent the back of the refrigerator. When the refrigerator is properly located in a user's premises, the tape is removed and the spring bias forces the coils to assume the spaced position for proper use of the refrigerator.
In practice, these existing supports are costly to manufacture and assemble requiring metal pieces, pivots and springs.
Furthermore, a separate and distinct bumper is often used to protect the coils from an adjacent wall and to prevent the wall from being scratched or marked by means of the coils and associated wire grid.